Lamluang Resort Phetchaburi

... had to come to this stinky town for. I say stinky cause the whole city smelled of ****!!! i mean it...it was awful. We headed off on our walk in what must have been near 40 Degrees!!! It was too warm but we didnt give up. We headed on a suggested route to get the best temples in...which to be fair the town had plenty. Unfortunatley we had with us the most offensive woman in ...

... services and continued on ourselves. The cave temple itself is pretty run-of-the-mill, but it has a little hole in the top of one of the rooms, that if you catch it at the right time of day, allows a beam of light through that makes for a pretty impressive sight. We, of course, only know this from what we have seen on the internet. Due to an unsurprising lack of information, we were not there at the right time and did not see it in all ...

... already has, so here is a link to that story. On a lighter note it's been great to see positive changes happening around the centre. I've seen animals move from solitary cages into groups that they were finally able to interact with, and gibbons move from old, inadequate enclosures into new state-of-the-art ones up in the treetops in the jungle. I was lucky enough to be able to see the huge area of new ...

... and partially froze them. The gibbons and macaques seemed pretty happy with those. Our last job of the day was to scatter-feed handfuls of seeds in the macaque fields. The fields are the largest, naturalistic enclosures that resident macaques are put into if they can't be released but can live in a normal social group and cope with the naturalistic environment. It's nice to go there sometimes to watch monkeys behave like monkeys as it's so easy to get angry ...

... us and plays funny western music in his car (like Toto, Celine Dion, Shakira...) Skill learned: How to chop a coconut in half using a machete. Thai dish that the cooks make: Veggie fried rice with cashews. Roommate: I don't think I could pick between Charlotte and Lieke! They were both loads of fun. I didn't get to know Sally too well, and the new Dutch roommates Francis and Loeki ...

... these have natural lifespans of 40 years), they go through puberty and get more aggressive. WAY too often, at that age, they're then put into tiny cages in the backyards of these people's homes, because they just can't handle them anymore. They're no longer sweet little babies; they're gibbons, as they are meant to be. One of the gibbons was kept locked in a wooden box for 9 years, with only 1 slot at the ...

... Lieke was actually here for several weeks volunteering in the spring, left to go travel, and came back to volunteer one more week before she heads back to Holland. That's how much she liked it! She's really fun so far. Last night was enjoyable. We ate dinner in a different place--the so-called Elephant House, bc it's near the elephants, and watched 5 minutes of the Gibbon Rescue that happened that very day. Edwin ...

... I went inside a nearby cafe, bought a drink (by pointing), and used their bathroom--a genuine Thai toilet, with the low squatting, no toilet paper, just water bucket, and all. The driver came and he took me and my bag to the sanctuary. Another Emma had just gotten there--she's 26, from England, and in the middle of a 10 month journey/holiday. The staff person Emma gave volunteer Emma and I a tour of the sanctuary and it was ...

... provider. I am getting huge discounts on the massage and sauna. I deserve it! My experience so far has been extremely positive, but I thought I might share a few things that make me cringe. Cringe 1. Plastic bags. The Singaporeans, Malaysians and THais use them profusely. I had thought the Japanese were teh worst offenders- but here they top the Japanese. Even if I am buying an apple or a banana - a small thing, automatic ...

... railway built by the Japanese using Allied POWs and locals as their workforce. 100,000 men died as a result of conditions, treatment and work load. The museum was fascinating and the bridge, although only a normal concrete bridge, had added symbolism.